NEW EDITORIAL SECTIONS

I am pleased to announce that we are in the process of creating five new editorial sections: “Clinical Applications of Health Promotion,” “ Qualitative Research,” “Population Health” , “From Evidence- Based Practice to Practice Based Evidence" and "Measurement Issues.”

The “Clinical Applications of Health Promotion” section will include editorials, original research, and literature reviews on efforts to apply health promotion strategies to prevent the onset of lifestyle-related diseases among high risk individuals in clinical settings, as well as efforts to utilize health promotion concepts as part of the treatment plan of people who are already sick. We have not yet selected the editorial team for this section. This section was stimulated by my new position as Director of Wellness and Health Promotion at the Cleveland Clinic. In this role, I will be responsible for integrating health promotion concepts into all aspects of the Clinic, including programs for our 34,000 employees, our medical school, as well as patients in our 13 hospitals and 14 Family Health and Surgery Centers in Ohio and Florida

The “Qualitative Research” section will include commentaries on how to incorporate qualitative research into health promotion evaluation and research, and original high quality qualitative research. This section was stimulated by the significant improvement in the qualitative research skills of health promotion scholars and our growing recognition of the rich data that can be captured through qualitative research. Marjorie MacDonald, PhD, RN of University of Victoria is the editor of this section, and Jean A. Shoveller, PhD of University of British Columbia and Kim Raines, PhD, RD of University of Alberta are the associate editors.

The “Population Health” section was developed in recognition of the importance of group-level change efforts made through comprehensive strategies. These efforts are becoming quite sophisticated, often segmenting the target population based on multiple health-related factors and targeting interventions that are tailored to meet the needs of each segment. We will publish commentaries, literature reviews and original research, with special emphasis on programs in workplace, school, faith community and general community settings. David Anderson, PhD of StayWell is the editor. Lloyd J. Kolbe, PhD of Indiana University and Rob Moodie, MD of VicHealth in Australia are associate editors.

The section titled “From Evidence-Based Practice to Practice Based Evidence” was created at the recommendation of Lawrence W. Green, DrPH, now of the University of California, Berkeley. In response to frequent criticisms from the research community that health promotion programs need to be more research-driven, Larry’s response has been that programs will be more research-based if research is more practice-based. This section will include commentaries as well as original research. Larry will serve as the section editor of this section. Charles Basch, PhD of Columbia University is the associate editor.

The “Measurement Issues” section was created in recognition of the growing number manuscripts we receive that document creation of new questionnaires, interview strategies, environmental audits, and other measurement tools, as well as the need to validate and standardize these tools. We will publish commentaries and original research in, as well as literature reviews on, this topic. Shawna L. Mercer Msc, PhD of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is the section editor and we are still recruiting associate editors.

As I reflect on the additions of these editorial sections, I am struck by how far our field has progressed in the past three decades. It has evolved from an amorphous concept, considered flaky in most health care circles, to a well documented art and science that applies rigorous methodology and is studied, taught and applied in education, workplace, community and health care settings, and is being incorporated into national health policy in many nations. The links between lifestyle, health, quality of life, medical costs, and productivity and now well established. Our ability to motivate people to improve health behaviors and sustain changes on a long term basis is improving. We are about to embark on an era of refining our techniques and determining the most effective strategies for each person and each setting.

Michael P. O'Donnell, PhD, MBA, MPH
Editor in Chief, American Journal of Health Promotion